A 39-year-old Oak Harbor man is accused of trying to take a woman’s purse by force in a dispute over fentanyl on Aug. 15, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged Kedric D. Gibbs in Island County Superior Court Aug. 19 with robbery in the second degree.

In court on Monday, Island County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Laura Twitchell asked Island County Superior Court Judge Carolyn Cliff to set Gibbs’ bail at $5,000 based on his history of missing court dates. His only criminal history is prior misdemeanor assault charges. In addition, she argued that Gibbs presents a danger to the community; she said he ran into the alleged victim after the incident and told her, “You’re lucky I don’t finish what I started.”

Claire Highland, the attorney for Gibbs, told the judge that he is currently living unhoused in the Oak Harbor area and doesn’t have employment, so he would be unlikely to be able to make a high amount of bail. She said he has family locally and is in the process of voluntarily seeking drug and alcohol treatment.

Cliff, however, said the details of the alleged crime necessitated setting bail at $5,000.

According to a police report, officers responded to a 911 call from the victim at the 7-Eleven store on the south end of Oak Harbor. The woman, who is also homeless, said that Gibbs had given her a hit of fentanyl a few days prior but then approached her about paying for it, the officer wrote in his report. He demanded $30, which she said was too much.

The woman told police that Gibbs grabbed her purse from her, telling her to “give me everything,” the report states. He pushed her and she hit a tree, hurting her back and neck; he also struck her several times, the report indicates.

A witness told police that he saw Gibbs “bum rush” the woman.

The woman said that Gibbs was constantly harassing her because she sleeps outside and is vulnerable.

Police located Gibbs a few days after the incident. He denied robbing the woman or committing any crimes.